Tag: Ayomide Adeleye

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed that Ayomide Adeleye is in its custody following the directive of a Lagos Magistrate Court. 

In a statement issued on Monday, the Service refuted claims suggesting that the inmate, identified by custodial number S-1995/24, was not in its facility. 

NCoS Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Umar, described the reports as misleading, affirming that Adeleye, a 23-year-old awaiting trial inmate, was remanded at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Kirikiri, Lagos. 

Umar stated that Adeleye was remanded on 26 September 2024, by Magistrate Court 13A, Ogba, Lagos, on charges of kidnapping and murder. The inmate was subsequently presented before the same court on 16 December 2024. 

The Service reiterated its commitment to transparency and adherence to judicial orders in handling inmates. 

He said: “On the said date he was produced in court, the presiding magistrate ordered that he remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending advice from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP). 

“The Service wishes to categorically state that the said inmate is still in the custody of the MSCC Kirikiri, Lagos, as ordered by the court, contrary to the information being peddled by the mischievous report. 

“To further clarify, there was an inmate with a similar name who was admitted at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, Lagos State on 6 March 2024, upon a warrant issued by Magistrate Court 15A, Ogba, Lagos State, for the offence of theft. 

“The inmate was discharged on 4 April 2024 by order of the court on the mentioned date. 

“It is clear that the report was aimed at misleading the general public and bringing the image of the Service into disrepute. Media reporters are advised to confirm their information from appropriate quarters before going to press to avoid disseminating falsehood to the public. 

“The Service wishes to request the general public to disregard the said report as it is written by armchair reporters who could have done due diligence by confirming their information before publication. 

“The Acting Controller General of Corrections (Ag. CGC) Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche MFR, mni, therefore assures that the Service is working tirelessly to ensure the safe and humane custody of all legally interned persons while ensuring they are properly reformed, rehabilitated, and resettled back into their various communities.”

The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that Ayomide Adeleye, who admitted to murdering his friend and neighbour, Christianah Idowu, is in its custody and has been charged with murder.

The assurance came from the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, in response to claims that Adeleye was not being held in any Lagos correctional facility.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Hundeyin dismissed the reports as false and reaffirmed that Adeleye had been properly charged with murder and remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.

“We can confirm that Ayomide Adeleye was charged with murder and was remanded for the same offence,” Hundeyin said.

He further clarified that reports linking Adeleye to an earlier case involving another individual with the same name were misleading.

Read Also: Police confirm nine dead, four injured in Jigawa communal clash

“It is also a fact that another person bearing the same name was remanded for a different offence and released in April 2024, long before the Ayomide we are talking about committed his offence,” he stated.

Hundeyin emphasized the importance of verifying facts through official sources, cautioning against relying on unverified reports.

“An outfit that prides itself on investigation should live up to its name. Relying on ‘sources’ rather than the spokesperson of the Correctional Service would land you in this kind of misinformation,” he said.

Adeleye, a 200-level Philosophy student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, confessed in September to killing Idowu, a 300-level student at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

On November 5, Adeleye appeared before Magistrate Seyi Omodara at the Ogba Magistrate Court. The magistrate subsequently issued a remand warrant, authorizing Adeleye’s detention at the Ikoyi Correctional Center pending advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.